Kids amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people lifeless and 7 injured, police informed The Related Press, a stunning growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant girl and lots of youngsters.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved individuals who got here to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the place greater than 80 million individuals dwell in poverty, in accordance with government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. however dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. By some means the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency stated first responders had been in a position to evacuate the our bodies of those trampled to demise and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they could to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency staff treated a number of the injured as they lay within the open discipline. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, footwear and different objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only identified himself as Daniel stated "there were so many youngsters” among the lifeless. Five of the useless children were from one mom, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by kin of the victims after the stampede, based on witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the state of affairs.

The police spokeswoman stated the seven injured have been “responding to treatment."

The “Shop for Free” occasion was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes previously.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the very least 16 people have been killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired uncontrolled during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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Related Press journalist Hilary Uguru in Warri, Nigeria, contributed.